United Nations
General Assembly
A/HRC/16/52/Add.5
Distr.: General
7 February 2011
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Sixteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Addendum
Mission to Papua New Guinea*
Summary
The present report contains the findings and recommendations of the Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Manfred Nowak, on his mission to Papua New Guinea, from 14 to 25 May 2010.
On the basis of discussions with public officials, judges, lawyers and representatives
of civil society, interviews with victims of violence and with persons deprived of their
liberty, often supported by forensic medical evidence, the Special Rapporteur found
isolated cases of torture in the classical sense of deliberately inflicting severe pain or
suffering as a means of extracting a confession or information. He also found, however, a
considerable number of cases where persons were subjected to different degrees of beatings
by the police during arrest and as a form of punishment, which may also amount to torture.
Impunity for torture and ill-treatment is fuelled by the lack of effective complaint
mechanisms, independent investigations, monitoring and other similar safeguards.
The Special Rapporteur found a general atmosphere of violence and neglect in
places of detention. In police stations, detainees were locked up for long periods in
overcrowded and filthy cells, without proper ventilation or natural light for periods of up to
one year. The conditions in correctional institutions were better, but generally
overcrowded. There was also an overall lack of medical attention, even for those who were
* The summary of the present report is circulated in all official languages. The report itself,
contained in the annex to the summary, is circulated in the language of submission only.
The appendix is circulated as received.
GE.11-10608